There are many instances where public safety vehicles, whether police cars or ambulance, use a combination of visual and audio means to alert other motorist and pedestrians to give the right away to these vehicles. These visual and audio means include sirens and emergency flashers. Other vehicles which use any combination of the two include fire trucks, tow trucks and utility repair vehicles. Depending on the level of the emergency, whether it be a heart-attack victim on the way to a hospital in an ambulance or a road crew patching holes in the pavement, the combination of audio and visual warning devices, for the most part, are adequate in alerting the public as to their presence and the need to yield.
There are many instances however, where emergency vehicles fall short in their ability to warn the public at large as to presence and intentions. For an example, during the daylight hours emergency flashers and beacons are harder to spot than they would be at night. As well as a siren may be harder to detect when a motorist is using the car radio. Because of these shortcomings, many emergency vehicles become involved in traffic accidents resuiting in loss of life. In most situations, participants in the accident simply did not have ample warning of the approach of the emergency vehicle. In the situation where the police are chasing a vehicle which refuses to pull over, no siren or flasher is used on that particular vehicle resulting in an even greater number of accidents. Another problematic situation is with public buses or school buses. The use of these flashing warning lights simply does not allow ample response time to other motorist, again resulting in accidents and injury.
In still another problematic area, our population is living longer resulting in a growing number of senior citizens. As the senior population grows, the number of senior drivers grows. The response time adequate for these drivers to comprehend and react accordingly to emergency vehicles is an even greater problem as one's eyesight and hearing are greatly affected with age.
In light of these problems with public safety vehicle warning systems, it is a main object of the present invention to provide an electronic warning device which comprises a transmitting unit which is activated during an emergency vehicle run. The transmitting unit sends out a low frequency signal to receiving units installed in motor vehicles. As an emergency vehicle passes through any given area, the low frequency signal over-rides ones car radio with an intermittent beep and warning light.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer chip for use with an automobiles ECM (electronic control module). For use in alerting those who have a hearing problem of the approach of an emergency vehicle, the chip receives activation from a receiving unit and turns on a readily visible blinking light installed in the dash area of the motor vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a receiving unit for motorcyclist which can pick up a signal from an emergency vehicle and display the signal in the form of an emergency flasher.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fixed transmitter which can be located near schools, playgrounds and neighborhoods where children, including handicap children, are playing. The fixed transmitter could be solar powered and would send out a low frequency signal to motorist having a receiving unit. The signal would alert motorist with a flashing beacon which could be an original equipment item from the manufacturer, or a ready-to-use aftermarket unit which would plug into ones cigarette lighter.